The Invention of Writing

c.3,400 BCE, Mesopotamia

Something as simple as the invention of writing is a challenging thing to pin down, as you might imagine. It’s believed that written script, distinct from pictorial language, was developed independently in the Near East, China and Mesoamerica at different times, but the earliest known is that of Sumer in Mesopotamia. Their cuneiform script evolved from their use of tokens and images as more and more complex information needed to be conveyed. At first accounting was the primary use for cuneiform, but funeral rights and stories of the afterlife also became of interest. Ultimately the written word revolutionised the way people collected, saved and shared information.